Mozart with meatballs, in an Ikea: how opera is facing its existential crisis

"Secret Opera and The Trial are part of a broader shift in opera worldwide towards non-traditional venues think Wagner in a Detroit parking garage; Shostakovich in a Manchester nightclub. In recent years, Opera Australia has staged Puccini's one-act opera Il Tabarro on a century-old lightship in Sydney Harbour, Bizet's Carmen in the former industrial precinct of Cockatoo Island, and Verdi's Tosca on a tennis court."

"This is Secret Opera, a project by West Australian Opera that brings canonical and rare works to unusual places, including, in the past, an abandoned theatre and a prison. The night before, I saw Philip Glass's take on Franz Kafka's absurdist, nightmarish novel The Trial, performed in a former Flight Centre office in a shopping mall the latest project by Lost and Found Opera."

Opera companies worldwide are moving away from traditional concert halls to stage performances in unusual venues. Secret Opera presents canonical and rare works in unexpected locations such as abandoned theatres and prisons, while Lost and Found Opera performed Philip Glass's adaptation of Kafka's The Trial in a former shopping mall office. Perth Festival, under artistic director Anna Reece, exemplifies this trend by utilizing the city's existing and abandoned spaces creatively. Major opera companies like Opera Australia have staged productions on lightships, industrial sites, tennis courts, and outdoor locations. This shift democratizes opera by bringing classical performances to everyday spaces, making them more accessible to broader audiences beyond traditional opera-goers.

Read at www.theguardian.com